1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a window molding to be attached to the peripheral section of a window plate of a vehicle.
1. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a portion of a vehicle, and in the diagram, the reference numeral 1 relates to a vehicle body; 2 to a body panel; 3 to a window plate (windshield glass); 4 to a window molding; U to its upper segment; C to its corner segment; S to its side segment. The window molding 4 is attached to the periphery section of the window plate 3 so as to provide a seal between the body panels 2.
FIG. 5A is a cross sectional view of a window molding through a plane uxe2x80x94u in FIG. 4, disclosed in a Japanese Utility Model Application, First Publication, Sho 59-165215, and FIG. 5B is the same disclosed in a Japanese Patent Application, First Publication, Hei 3-153415.
The window molding 4 in FIG. 5A comprises: a molding body 4a to be attached along a space 5 between the window plate 3 and the body panel 2; a protruding rib 4b protruding from the molding body towards the external surface of the window plate; a leg section 4c extending from the molding body 4a towards the space 5; an engaging section 4d formed on the window plate 3 side of the leg section 4c; a sealing lip 4e extending from the molding body 4a towards the external surface 2a of the body panel 2; and a linking lip 4f extending from the leg section 4c towards the space-forming surface 2b of the body panel 2 and forming a hollow section 6.
The window molding 4 is attached to the window plate 3, and after discharging an adhesive agent 8 into the gap to dam rubber 7, it is inserted between the space-forming surface 2b of the body panel 2 in the x-arrow direction and the adhesive agent is hardened to produce a window.
However, such a structure of the window molding 4 allows the linking lip 4f to be deformed greatly and easily in the up-and-down direction, and the friction caused by the space-forming surface 2b makes it not only difficult to insert into the space 5, but presents a problem that, in the assembled state, the sealing lip 4e is allowed to float during highspeed cruising, due to a negative pressure created at the external surface of the window molding, resulting in generating abnormal sound (whistling sound).
The window molding 4 shown in FIG. 5B has omitted the sealing lip 4e, and the linking lip 4f is exposed externally so that, by pressing the linking lip 4f towards the x-direction to insert into the space 5, it is attached to the window plate 3 and is fixed in place by the adhesive agent 8.
However, such a window molding 4 presents a problem that, due to size variations in the body panel 2 and window plate 3 and the like, when the space 5 is wide, a gap is created between the linking lip 4f and the space-forming surface 2b, or when the space 5 is narrow, the linking lip 4f protrudes outwardly to spoil the appearance. Also, because a bent section 9 is formed on the linking lip 4f, when a negative pressure is generated at the external surface during highspeed cruising, the upper section of the linking lip 4f can easily be floated, and after the floating, it is difficult to be reverted.
The subject of the present invention is to provide a window molding that can be installed easily to result in an installation that remains stable and has a superior external appearance, that does not cause lifting and noise generation even during highspeed cruising, and in which the sealing lip is made thin to facilitate the surfaces to be flush.
The problem has been solved according to a window molding of the present invention as follows.
(1) A window molding comprises:
a molding body attached along a space between a window plate and a body panel;
a protruding rib protruding from the molding body towards an external surface of the window plate;
a leg section extending from the molding body towards the space;
a sealing lip extending from the molding body towards an external surface of a body panel;
a linking lip extending from the leg section towards the space-forming surface of the body panel and linking with a tip of the sealing lip or in a vicinity of the sealing lip to form a hollow section.
(2) A window molding according to the features presented in (1), wherein the leg section has an engaging section to engage with the window plate.
(3) A window molding according to one of features (1) or (2), wherein the linking lip is linked at an acute angle of incline towards the tip direction of the sealing lip.
(4) A window molding according to one of features (1) to (3), wherein the linking lip is formed with a convex surface section on the leg section side, and a concave surface section on the sealing lip side.
(5) A window molding according to one of features (1) to (4), wherein the molding body has a water receiving section in the side section.
The window molding according to the present invention is suitable for installing on the windshield plate, but it can also be applied to the rear window and other vehicular windows. Specially it is suitable for use in the upper section of the window plate which encounters severe air stream during cruising so that it may be installed only in the upper section of the window plate. It may also be installed so that the molding is formed integrally with an upper segment extending along the upper section of the window plate, a side segment pair extending along the side section of the window plate, and a corner segment pair continuously connecting the upper segments with the side segments. In the latter case, a water receiving section (weir) may be formed in the side segments of the window molding.
The molding body is constructed with an elongate member so that it can be attached along the space between the window plate and the body panel. Extending from the molding body, the protruding rib extends towards the external surface of the window plate, the leg section extends towards the space, the sealing lip extends towards the external surface of the body panel, and the linking lip links the leg section and the tip section of the sealing lip or its vicinity, resulting in the window molding that can be made as a unit with the molding body. These components may be integrated by using a process such as extrusion molding of synthetic resin (including rubber), and in this case, it is permissible to make a composite using a synthetic resin and a profiled metal strip as a core member, and may be formed as a composite of several materials such as rigid synthetic resin and plasticized (soft) synthetic resin formed into a single unit.
It is preferable that the protruding rib in the upper section be made so that the tip is close to the external surface of the peripheral section of the window plate, because flush surfacing can be facilitated, but in the side segments, rain water from the window plate can be stopped by forming a water receiving section.
It is preferable that the leg section be provided with an engaging section to engage with the window plate because firm fixation to the window plate can be achieved, and the window molding can be fixed in the correct orientation, but if other means are used for fixation, the engaging section can be omitted.
It is preferable that the sealing lip be extended to reach to external surface of the body panel, because it hides the space and produce superior appearance. It is preferable that the sealing lip be made gradually thinner towards the tip end, from the viewpoints of strength, external appearance and flush surfacing.
It is preferable that the linking lip be protruding from the leg section towards the space-forming surface of the body panel to extend along the space-forming surface from the abutting section, thereby linking with the tip section of the sealing lip or in its vicinity to form a hollow section, because the pressing force towards the space-forming surface can be increased and the tension force can be effected towards the tip section of the sealing lip. It is preferable that the sealing lip be linked at an acute inclination angle towards the tip direction of the sealing lip, because insertion into the space is facilitated and a reaction force can be effected against the lifting force on the sealing lip.
In this case, the linking lip should form a convex surface section of an arc shaped horizontal cross section on the leg side and a concave surface section of an arc shaped horizontal cross section on the sealing lip side, so that the overall shape is an S-shape in its cross section, because insertion into the space is facilitated, and the retaining force is increased by increasing the pressing force on the space-forming surface, and a tension force can be effected in the direction to prevent floating of the sealing lip. It is preferable to link the sealing lip at a location slightly in front of the tip section of the sealing lip in such a way that the tip of the sealing lip extends beyond the link section, because the protrusion section abuts the body panel to facilitate flush surfacing and provide a superior external appearance.
The above window molding may have the same cross sectional shape over the entire length, including the upper segment to the side segment, but the shape may be varied near the comer segment and a water receiving section may be formed in the side segment. The water receiving section may be formed by having a weir in the molding body, or it may be formed so that the height dimensions of the molding body, leg section and linking lip are changed. In either case, extrusion molding may be used, but injection molding and other forming processes may also be used.
The window molding is installed in a vehicle by a method of fixation in which the peripheral section of the window plate is coated with an adhesive agent to attach to the window molding, and an assembly of the window plate bonded to the window molding is coupled into the space-forming surface so as to fixate to the body panel using an adhesive agent; or it may be made after coupling the window plate similar to the above into the body panel, the leg section and the linking lip of the window molding are inserted to install on the window plate and are fixated in place by an adhesive agent.
In either case, by pressing the sealing lip from above at the same time as inserting the leg section, the force is transmitted towards the planar direction of the linking lip so that the linking lip can be installed easily by being pressed in along the space-forming surface to maintain the normal attachment orientation. The adhesive agent is hardened in-situ to attach the window molding to the window plate.
In the attached state, the linking lip plays a role of anchoring by effecting the pressing force on the space-forming surface, as well as the fact that a tension force is effected in the vicinity of the tip section of the sealing lip so that, during highspeed cruising (for example, 100xcx9c250 km/hr), sealing lip is prevented from lifting (floating so as to be separated from the body panel) even if a negative pressure is generated by the air streaming on the external surfaces. Specially during highspeed cruising, because pressurized air through the vehicle interior is introduced in the hollow section, the linking lip is pressed against the space-forming surface to prevent lifting of the sealing lip. For this reason, the sealing lip can be made thin to achieve flush surfacing and produce a superior external appearance.
When the cross sectional shape of the window molding is kept the same over the entire length from the upper section to the side section of the window plate, the above effects are obtained overall, but when the molding has the rain water receiving sections along the side segments, rain water on the window plate can be prevented from flowing onto the side windows across the side segments by guiding the rain water along the rain water receiving section so that the driver""s sight through the side windows may be favorably maintained.
According to the present invention, because the leg section and the vicinity of the tip of the sealing lip are linked by the linking lip, it is possible to obtain a window molding that facilitates its installation and, once it is installed, can maintain the installed state in a stable condition and presents a superior external appearance, and even during highspeed cruising, generates no floating or abnormal noise, and allows thinning of the sealing lip to enable flush surfacing.